An Eye for An Eye
by Uncle Charlie
Summary: Mr. Tully is back and he's not very happy. Written for the May Element Flash challenge: The Day the Lights Went out by Gensis Warnings: fairly dark, no pun intended.


When they went to bed that night no-one would have believed  
That in the morning light would not be there  
The dark hung heavy on the air like the grip of a jealous man  
No place was there known to have been spared  
Then panic took control of minds as fear hit everyone  
The day the light went out of the daytime sky

Sapphire's hand caught Steel's, her fingers curling around his. _Steel?_

_Yes, Sapphire?_

_What's happened? Why is it so dark?_

"I don't know." The mere fact that he admitted this was frightening to her. He sensed this and squeezed her hand gently. "Whatever it is, we will get to the bottom of this." He hesitated then and dug something from his pocket.

The lighter clicked on, but it did little to pierce the darkness. It seemed as if the room was drenched in black nothing. There were no sounds, no glimmer of life. "I've never seen…" Her voice trailed off and she gasped. "Yes, we have… oh, no." Steel turned to look at her, his face lit only by the flickering light.

"Sapphire, what is it?" He dropped his voice, moving closer to her.

"It's found us, Steel."

"What?"

"The darkness."

"You're speaking in riddles, Sapphire." His confusion was obvious. Trust Steel not to remember.

For her, there was little forgetting. It had inhabited her, twisting her mind until she thought she would go mad. Only the knowledge that Steel was there beside her kept her from losing control entirely. She'd never experience such anger, such hatred, and such hunger before. "Remember the solider, the train station…

"Tully…"

"You do remember," a vaguely familiar voice interrupted Steel and the darkness lessened just slightly to incorporate a third party into their little pool of light.

They both turned towards the speaker. Tully stood there, looking none the worse for his premature death, if you overlooked the lack of eyes. All that was there were two inky sockets.

Sapphire took a step towards the old man, her heart filled with remorse. She's hated what Steel had done to this poor man, a victim who had trusted them. She's fought with Steel afterwards, but it was for naught. He did not understand her point and she couldn't embrace his. They either had to acknowledge their difference and go on or break as a team. It had been touch and go, but in the end, Sapphire stayed with Steel.

Now she had a chance to explain to Tully and at least try to make him realize the greater role he played in his world's continued existence. Steel caught her arm in an iron grip and shook his head.

"No, Sapphire, that's not Tully. That what it wants us to think."

"Still not easy to fool you." Tully walked towards them and the darkness seemed to pulsate with his being, enveloping and radiating off him. "You have something I want."

"I don't think so." Steel kept himself insinuated between Tully and Sapphire. The Darkness had made a play for her before. He wasn't about to give it a second chance.

"Not her, little man. There's someone else in your life, someone new and precious. It's her I will have. An eye for an eye, if you will. You robbed me of my most precious possession and now it is time for you to pay with yours."

"Blank your mind, Sapphire," Steel ordered. "Think of Lead. Think of Silver. Think of anyone else."

Astra's face suddenly popped into Sapphire's mind and she gasped, dashing it away, hoping beyond hope that it was too fast. Tully merely laughed.

"So that's your treasure. Now you will know what it feels like to have something you hold dear snatched from you. Just as you snatched Tully's existence from him, he will take this from you."

"I don't think so." Steel stepped away from Sapphire, doing his best to keep Tully in view. It was hard as the man kept to the fringes of the darkness very much a part of the black that was trying to smother them.

"Who is going to stop me? You?" Tully outstretched a hand and Steel made a sick little gurgling sound before dropping to his knees. It felt as if a band was tightening around his brain, squeezing it in a vice. Steel dropped the lighter. "No, I think not. You are nothing to me now, little man. You bullied me and lied to me. You will pay."

Steel struggled to his feet, shaking with the effort to stay upright. Tully merely laughed and tilted his head to one side. Steel went down so hard that floor shook with the impact.

"How would you like to your molecules ripped apart and slowly dissolved. It's excruciating and yet not nearly close to the torment that Tully went through. He's here with me, you know. They all are – the people you cheated and killed. They are begging me to reduce you to a mass of…" Tully suddenly shrieked and Steel managed to drag a lungful of life-infusing oxygen into his body.

The room flared with light, brilliant and blinding. It took Steel a moment to realize that Tully was the source of the light. His clothes, hair, even his flesh was on fire. He staggered about the room and everything he touched burst into flames.

Steel got to his feet with Sapphire's help. Together, they half-stumbled, half-ran from the area. All the while, Tully screamed, horrific and gut-wrenching wails and struck out at the light as it consumed him.

"The one thing that destroys darkness is light." Sapphire explained as they put distance between themselves and that pit of black. "He was so busy tormenting you as pay back, he quite forgot about me." Sapphire's mind reached out and she smiled at the sound of Astra's giggles.

"He did indeed make a grave mistake. You never get between a mother and her child."

"That's a bear, Steel."

"No, that's a sapphire." Steel kissed her cheek. "The only thing stronger than one is a diamond and I happen to think you can bet on her hands down."

"You are sweet." She took his hand again and smiled. "Let's go home."


End file.
